Sawmill track-sweeper.



PATENTED JAN. 15, .1907.

E. HOOPS. SAWMILL TRACK SWEEPER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY3, 1906.

w; messes 1x1: Nbnms PETERS C0,, WASHINGTON, n. c.

EMMETT HOOPS, OF SOUTH BEND, l/VASHINGTON.

SAWMILL TRACK-SWEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 15, 1907.

Application filed July 3,1906. Serial No. 324.696.

'To all whom it 77'I/[LZ/ concern:

Be it known that I, EMMETT Hoors, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at South Bend, in the county of Pacific and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sawmill Track-Sweepers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to sawmill-carriages, and especially to devices for sweeping sawdust, ships, bark, &c., away from the track and the floor between the rails into bins or chutes made in the floor and adapted to receive and convey away the said sweepings.

The object of my invention is to provide an automatic device which is secured to the carriage and which is positive in its action. I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a sawmill-carriage equipped with my sweeper. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof. Figs. 3 and 4 are side views of the ends of a carriage equipped with my device arranged in a slightly-different maimer from that shown in Fig. 1.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The rails 1 are mounted on the stringers 2, which are part of the sawmill, and the carriage 3 is supported by the wheels 4, running on the rails 1. The carriage 3 carries the log past the saw, said log being secured on the head-blocks 5, mounted on the carriage 3, by means of the usual log-engaging hooks secured to the knees 6. On each end of each side of the carriage 3 are secured straps 7, which are bent so as to offset from the carriage and to form therewith slideways. In the space between each strap 7 and the carriage 3 is mounted a sliding friction-block 8, which extends downward from the side of the carriage 3 to the tracks 1, being provided at its lower end, which engages the track, with a shoe 9, preferably made of hard wood. The sweepers 10 are made of suitable planks and have their lower edges cut out and fringed. with leather to fit around the surfaces of the rails, stringers, and floor and are hung from the ends of the carriage 3 by means ofthe strap-hinges 11, so as to be movable about the horizontal axis of the upper edge of the sweeper. I connect the sweepers 10 to the friction-blocks 8 by horizontal bars 12, adj ustably secured to the friction-blocks and by the shorter links 13, pivotally secured to the sweepers 10. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1 the links 13 are secured directly to the sweeper 10 below the pivot of the strap-hinge 11. In the arrangement shown in Figs. 3 and 4 the bar 12 and link 13 have been raised, and the link 13 connects indirectly to the sweeper 10 through the agency of the levers 14, which are secured. to the sweeper 10 and extend upward therefrom above the pivot of the strap-hinges 11. It will be noted that the effect of this change is to reverse the action of the. friction-block on the sweeper. Thus though the carriages illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, and 4 are traveling in the same direction the right-hand sweeper in Fig. 1 is shown as removed from the track and floor, while the corresponding sweeper in Fig. 3 is shown in its operative position, and the lefthand sweeper in Fig. 1 is shown in its operative position, while the corresponding sweeper in Fig. 4 is shown as removed from said position. It is therefore immaterial which arrangement is used so far as the action is concerned; but the choice between the arrangements will be governed entirely by the position of the sawdust bins or chutes relative to the travel of'the carriage and the position of the saw. One arrangement is used when it is desired to push the refuse away from the center of the run, as in Fig. 1, while the other arrangement is used to push the refuse toward the center of the run, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

I am aware that there are other sweepers which hang from the ends of the carriage; but, so far as I know, they have always been hung therefrom, so that they drag on the track and floor when they are not in their operative positions, and consequently-tend to sweep the refuse in both directions, and

therefore require in order to do their work well an unnecessary number of receivingbins. I overcome this objection by raising the sweeper through the action of the fric tion-blo cks entirely away from the track and floor. Since the leather border of the sweeper closely engages the track and floor when in its operative position, the floor is kept swept clean all the time.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a sawmill track-sweeper, the combination with a reciprocating carriage, of a friction-block slidably mounted on said carriage and engaging the stationary rail, a

swinging sweeper horizontally pivoted to I friction-block and extending forward there- [5 said carriage, andconnecting means joining from, and a link joining said bar to'said said friction-block to said sweeper whereby swinging sweeper whereby said sweeper is said sweeper is elevated from the floor when elevated from the floor when the carriage is the carriage is moving in one direction and is E moving in one direction and is brought into brought into sweeping contact with the floor l sweeping contact with the floor when the car- 20 when the carriage is moving in the opposite I riage is moving in the opposite direction. direction. N i In testimony whereof I afliX my signature 2. In a sawmill track-sweeper, the COIIjlfbil in presence of two witnesses. nation with a reci rocating carriage, o a friction-block slidalily mounted on said cari EMMETT HOOPS riage and engaging the stationary rail, a Witnesses: swinging sweeper horizontally pivoted to 1 NETTIE FREEBURGER, said carriage, a bar adjustably secured to the M. D. EGBERT. 

